Paul Iribe

Paul Iribe, the son of a Basque engineer, was born in Angoulême on 18th June, 1883. He was educated in Paris and studied art at the École des Beaux-Arts. He later served his apprenticeship with Le Temps and in 1901 began work as an illustrator with the satirical newspaper, Le Rire.

During the First World War he moved to Hollywood and managed to obtain a part in Great Men Among Us (1915). He failed to make it as an actor but was art director of A Prodigal Knight (1921), Paying the Piper (1921) and The Ten Commandments (1923). He then directed three films: Changing Husbands (1924), Forty Winks (1925) and The Night Club (1925).

Iribe married Maybelle Hogan, an American heiress, in 1928. He returned to Paris where his drawings were published in Le Sourire, Le Cri de Paris and Le Joyrnal de Paris. He also provided material for the anarchist newspaper, L'Assiette au Beurre.

Iribe separated from his wife and became romantically involved with Coco Chanel. They mixed with a group that included Misia Sert, José-Maria Sert, Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais and Serge Lifar. During this period Iribe became addicted to drugs.

Paul Iribe died of a heart-attack while playing tennis on 21st September 1935.